ok. if anyone is any good at maths (and ask anyone you speak to asap, this is one hell of a plea) how the hell do i do this??:

a stone slides in a straight line across a frozen pond. given that the initial speed of the stone is 5m/s and that it slides 20m before coming to rest, calculate the coefficient of friction between the stone and the surface of the frozen pond.

so, in terms of formulae: u is 5, v is 0, s (distance) is 20m, i figured out acceleration (a) is 0.625 m/s/s and time taken for that is 8s
to find the coefficient, i need to use F=mu x R (mu being the greek letter i don't have a character for on me keyboard)
F being the frictional force, which should be 0 but can't be.
R is the reaction force, which is equal to weight, but from the data given i don't know how to get weight
F=P but i can't figure out P, because i'd need to use F=ma (ie mass (which i don't have) times a, which i have, but it isnt any good on its own)

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH please help....

...

I hate math.

I cannot begin to describe how long it is since I've had one of these to solve ... But it looks like a sick perverted form of fun, so I'm gonna give it a go.

(edited to remove false information)

The stone breaks the ice and falls into the pond?
The answer is six?
I wouldn't trust my math skills too much.

Okay, I'll try to explain it using your formulae, which is kind of difficult, because we use different symbols over in North America, but...

F=(mu X R)

R = mg (where m = mass of the stone, g = acceleration of gravity)

F=ma (where m - mass of stone, a =acceleration of stone)

therefore

ma = (mu X mg)

masses cancel, giving you

a=mu X g

Since you know a (which you said you already calculated) and g, you can therefore calculate mu.

mu = a/g

Hope this helps!

OMG IT WORKS!! I LOVE YOU!!

i'm sending you money

I was good at maths up until this year.

Now I'm just barely passing.

I don't know what happened but I hate math.

Twelvty!

Seconded

I think your both wrong and it's Armadillo!!!!

Almost, you forgot to carry the one and divide by 5. Its Elephant of course...

I'm not sure, but I could program a game in Flash based on it, therefore in my head I know all the mathematics that I need

failing that you could go with the old maths back up and put 42 as the answer

speaking of funny test answers, i remember someone put "because its magic" as an answer on a chemistry test, i had a giggle at that

Seconded for a second time.



(Is the answer twelve?)

Not a problem! My pleasure.

(Plus, it made me feel smart and competent at school work again... which hasn't happened for a long long time )

Ooo! British money! But isn't it heavy? I mean, it's in pounds, no? ( Sorry, lameass joke. But I'm very very tired right now. )

Or, you could just send me your adoration and praise!

If you have any more problems, don't hesitate to ask. I've taken waaaaaay too many math and physics courses over my long and varied school career.

oh the can of worms you've just opened...i've got exams soon...you're gonna hate me

You need a hand with a math problem that can be solved remotely via this wonderful internet thingy let me know.

I'm kind of good at mathamatics particulaly mechanics, fluid dynamics, numerical solutions and basic economics/accountancy.

But be warned, I ended up with an MSc. and a job in an insurance company...
...and no, I don't know what I did in a past life to deserve it, but it must have been bad!

bel.